1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a content notification method and apparatus, a content processing method and apparatus, and a storage medium storing a program for executing the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there have been provided viewing systems that enable users to view contents, such as television programs and movies. For example, a television system is a viewing system that enables users to view broadcast contents, such as television programs, by receiving the same e.g. via broadcast waves or cables. Further, there has also been provided network broadcast in which broadcast contents are transmitted from broadcast stations via networks. Further, there have also been widely used a viewing system which is comprised of a video recording and reproducing apparatus, such as a DVD/HDD (Hard Disk Drive) recorder or a videocassette recorder, and a display device, such as a television monitor, which are connected to each other so as to enable recorded contents to be viewed.
On the other hand, the number of contents which users can view by making use of the above-described environments has been rapidly increasing, which makes it difficult for users to find out contents which they feel like viewing. Particularly, the number of channels that can be viewed by cable television has reached as many as several hundreds. Further, recently, the capacity of a storage device mounted e.g. on the DVD/HDD recorder has become so large that several hundreds of programs can be recorded thereon. Therefore, it is expected that the number of contents available to users will become even larger along with progress in transmission technology and apparatuses, etc.
For a user to find a desired content from a large number of contents, the following methods are known, for example.
(1) A method of displaying viewable contents in a list: For example, in television broadcasting, an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) is displayed on a television receiver whereby the user can select a television program of a desired channel. Data constituting the EPG is transmitted to the television receiver together with the contents, and is formed into a list on the receiver side for display. On the other hand, the video recording and reproducing apparatus having the function of recording television programs displays a list of recorded contents, whereby each user can select a desired content therefrom. Under such environments, data obtained from the EPG, time stamps indicative of times of recording, data input by the user, and so forth are used as identification tags of contents.
(2) A method of a user inputting a keyword to search for and display contents matching the keyword: This method searches the EPG and the list of recorded contents.
(3) A method of collecting and compiling viewing information via a network to thereby provide the viewing information to the user in real time: In this method, real-time viewing information is collected and compiled, and the results of compiling the viewing information are transmitted to a user side terminal for selection of contents (see e.g. Japanese Laid-Open Paten Publication (Kokai) No. 2003-284008).
On the other hand, as a method of a content supply side user showing advertisements to users, it has been proposed to superimpose an advertisement of selling goods selected by a transmitting user on live video images for distribution of the resulting video images to receiving users at the other ends of communication, and enable any receiving user to connect to a system of a business enterprise dealing with the goods when the receiving user clicks on the video images (see e.g. US Patent Application No. 20010039520) In this method, when the transmitting user sets the live video images to be permitted to be used as an advertisement medium and selects selling goods to be advertised, an image superimposing process is carried out e.g. for superimposing images of the goods on the live video images i.e. contents.
However, when a user wants to find a desired content from a large number of contents, the above-described methods (1) to (3) require the user to switch channels after termination of the program being viewed. This switching operation is troublesome for the user.
Further, under an environment in which a user views television programs while carrying out work, the user is required to judge contents of television programs and switch channels after termination of the program being viewed. This is troublesome for the user.